The White House Health Care Reform Today October 14, 1993 * Yesterday several Republican members of Congress introduced a "medical IRA" bill. Other Republican Senators have introduced credible plans. But the Gramm bill is nothing but an endorsement of the status quo. The Gramm bill identifies consumers as the source of our health care woes, asking them to be more "price sensitive." And it identifies insurance companies as the victims -- allowing them to continue to charge any price, any time -- using a person's age, occupation, health history or any excuse for rate hikes. While the Health Security plan puts consumers and small businesses in the driver's seat, this plan leaves insurance companies in the driver's seat -- and consumers and small businesses on the side of the road. * These far-right Republican politicians have questioned what the Health Security plan does about bureaucracy. They should be ashamed of themselves. Look at their plan. It does nothing to cut insurance company red tape, nothing to standardize the number of forms, nothing to simplify billing or eliminate fine print. * The Health Security plan reduces insurance company red tape by requiring insurance companies to use a single claim form to replace the thousands of forms that exist today. The plan introduces a Health Security card to reduce paperwork and standardize electronic billing. It's simple -- you walk into the doctor's office, hand over the card, get the care you need, and fill out one form when you're done. That's all -- no filling out piles of forms, no wading through the fine print. * Supporters of health reform continue to point to the problem of today's rising prescription drug costs. For 3 out of 4 older Americans, prescription drugs are the highest out of pocket health care cost. And over eight million older Americans are forced to choose between buying food and medicine. * On average, drug companies spend more on marketing and advertising than they do on research and development. An average of $3.58 per prescription goes to marketing and advertising, while an average of $2.70 per prescription goes to research and development expenses. And drug companies charge U.S. citizens much higher prices than the citizens of other industrialized nations. * Under the Health Security plan, prescription drug prices will be contained. Health plans and the federal government will be able to negotiate with drug companies for a discount on the price of prescription drugs. * Health Care Reform Today * The White House * * 202-456-2566 * Fax: 202-456-2362